Double Cross – Britain’s Double Agents in World War II
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Welcome! I’m Sarah Sundin, and my award-winning novels explore the drama, daring, and romance of the World War II era. I live in Southern California, where my husband and I traipse the trails with our rescue dogs and play with our adorable grandson. When I’m not writing, I teach Sunday school, volunteer in women’s ministry, and serve as co-director of the West Coast Christian Writers Conference. You can learn more about me and my books here on my website and on Facebook and Instagram. My latest novel is the bestselling Midnight on the Scottish Shore…
As the German war machine devours the Netherlands, the only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the occupation is to do the unthinkable—become a spy for the Germans. Once dispatched to Britain, she plans to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. But her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed. Yet perhaps she is more useful alive than dead. British intelligence employs her to radio misleading messages to Germany from the lighthouse at Dunnet Head in Scotland—messages filled with naval intelligence Lachlan must provide. If the war is to be won, Lachlan and Cilla must work together. But how can he trust a woman who arrived on his shores as a tool of the enemy—a woman certain to betray both him and the Allied cause?
In this novel, Cilla becomes a double agent through Britain’s MI5 Double Cross program – a program full of the most improbable characters you could imagine, who accomplished some outstanding feats!
Double Cross – Britain’s Double Agents in World War IIWhen World War II began, the United Kingdom was rightly worried about German spies in their midst. Britain’s MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5) was tasked with counterespionage–to find and capture enemy agents before they could send dangerous information to Germany. Although capturing and executing these spies made the nation feel more secure and sent a message to Germany, MI5 decided many of these agents might be more useful alive than dead.
58 St. James’s Street, London, site of MI5’s London Headquarters in World War II (Photo: Sarah Sundin, 9 May 2024)
In September 1940, MI5 began the “Double Cross” program, to “turn” enemy agents to become double agents. The ideal double agent would send messages to Germany using his German radio and codes or via letters written in secret ink to addresses in neutral countries – but these messages were provided by MI5. At first a new double agent sent “chicken feed,” containing information that was true and verifiable, but not harmful to the British war effort. Since Germany could purchase British newspapers in neutral Portugal and could verify certain facts by aerial reconnaissance, relating truthful information built trust in the eyes of the agent’s German handlers.
As the war progressed, MI5 even allowed their double agents to commit fake sabotage, blowing up buildings of no importance at vital locations. Since the local authorities and the press weren’t aware of what was actually happening, reports of suspected sabotage in the newspapers and aerial photos of the damage further built up the agents’ reputations in German eyes.
The more the German Abwehr trusted their agents, the more these agents were able to participate in strategic deception, feeding blatantly false information to deceive the Germans about Allied military plans. This reached its culmination on D-day, when an intricate web of deception, including messages from the most trusted double agents, convinced Germany that the Allies would land in the Pas de Calais region of France rather than Normandy. “Knowing” this, Hitler refused to release reinforcements for several weeks after D-day, saving countless Allied lives.
German Abwehr SE88/5 spy radio (Photo: Crypto Museum)
One of the reasons the Double Cross program was so successful was because MI5 knew the Abwehr did indeed trust their agents. Because the Abwehr transmitted reports from their agents in Britain verbatim over the radio, codebreakers at Britain’s Bletchley Park were able to break the Abwehr code on December 8, 1941. Reading Abwehr radio traffic showed Mi5 which agents were trusted and which weren’t, which messages were believed and which weren’t, and – this was as shocking then as it is now – every single German agent sent to British soil was “in harness” – either in prison or working as a double agent.
It is believed only one Abwehr agent escaped capture during World War II—and he didn’t have a working wireless transmitter and committed suicide. Of the German agents captured throughout the war, sixteen were executed, but about three dozen were turned to become double agents.
With a great deal of ingenuity and organization, Britain’s MI5 was able to take one of their greatest fears and turn it into one of their greatest assets.
Here’s the Stop #4 Basics:If you’re interested, you can order Midnight on the Scottish Shore on Amazon, Baker Book House, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: are singing.
Link to Stop #5, the Next Stop on the Loop: Joanna Davidson Politano’s site!
EXTRA GIVEAWAY!But wait! Before you leave, I’m giving away FIVE sets of two novels each to FIVE more people! I’m offering paperback copies of BOTH Embers in the London Sky and Midnight on the Scottish Shore. All you need to do is subscribe to my author newsletter – or be a current subscriber. See the sign-up form at the bottom of this page, where it says “A Free Gift for You.” US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway runs through April 13, 2025 Winners will be notified by email by April 22, 2025. Enter via the Rafflecopter below:
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